Articles by larrymagid

Power failures can happen at any time, whether its a major rainstorm in California, a hurricane in Florida, tornado in Kansas or just a random occurrence. And when they do happen, many of our tech gadgets stop working. So here’s some advice on what to do in case of a power failure. Keep your phones working Your cell phone is one of the most important things to have working in a power [...]

Update: Recode reports that After School has been banned by Apple for the second time. A growing number of apps allow people to post anonymously. Some of the better known ones include Ask.fm, Whisper, Secret and Yik Yak but there are new ones all the time, including After School, that’s been downloaded more than 100,000 times including by students from more than 14,000 U.S. high schools, [...]

When you see a great deal online, make sure you examine the fine print. The biggest “gotcha” is usually shipping costs. Many online merchants will offer free shipping during the holidays, but some will add substantial fees that could wipe out any savings. Be aware of sales tax and any other fees. Depending on whether the merchant has an in-state “presence,” it may or may [...]

This post first appeared in the San Jose Mercury News There are a growing number of social media apps that encourage anonymity — Popular services such as Ask.fm, Secret, Whisper and Yik Yak allow people to post under an assumed name, or no name at all. A new one, called Rooms, is actually owned by Facebook — the very company that popularized the “real-name culture.” Plenty [...]